Black Sheep Riggwelter (Bottle)

Brewed by Black Sheep
Style: Old Ale
Ripon, England

Tasted in Toronto. Tasted in a dimpled mug. Obtained from LCBO as part of their winter warmers series 2007. Pours with a deep reddish colour, clear, with a medium white foamy head. Aroma is slightly sweet, toffee, caramel. Some notes of alcohol in the scent also. Flavour is more muted and subtle than the aroma. Fairly bitter, ends with a hint of sweetness. Fairly rich and full bodied.

I think the sheep (ram) on my bottle wants a belly rub, my wife thinks it’s dead and that I shouldn’t drink this beer. Nice thick dark tan head, that really lasts.... and lasts... and okay I will come back when the head has faded enough for me to take a sip...first we check the scent though... Coffee, toffee, caramel and raisins. Nice dark thick flavour. A lot of smoked flavour. Nice and softly dark. Roasted nuts, and meats. Very nice. My one complaint is that the taste lingers and will tarnish future rates and flavours. A nice beer, a little darker then I personally enjoy but still very nice.

This ale poured a deep red colour with a big foamy tan coloured head. To the nose you can get scents of caramel, butter, slightly smoked malt, coffee and a little cocoa. First taste is very smooth with flavours of roasted malts with caramel and a little coffee. The finish is a little bit hoppy with a bitter flavour lingering. Very Good!

500ml Bottle: Pours deep brown, big beige head. An aroma of sweetness, bread, banana, and muted hops. The flavour is nice, good feel in the mouth as it’s only lightly carbonated and goes down smoothly. Lots more hops bounce off the sweet and roasty malts for a great blend, and the the yeast taste comes forward along with a little chocolate. Good beer to go with a great label!

Dark amber brown with minimal head. Smells a tad malty and roasted. Tastes a bit fruity and malty, strange combo, but seems to work. Again you get that roasted malts taste. It does have a dry and slightly bitter finish.

Very heavy coffee and black licorice flavor; dry and a bit of hoppiness. Slow pour has an off-white head, and an aroma of black licorice and coffee. All around earthy with hops. Not my favorite.

Bottle: Poured an amber color ale with an off-white foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma consists of notes of caramel with some dry malt. Taste is a nice mix between some dry malt with some subtle notes of caramel and what I believe to be a Fuggles hops ending. Average body with some medium carbonation. Well done and easy to drink.

500ml bottle - pours a deep brown/auburn shade with a nice big off-white head. The aroma is sweet and fruity with a lot of malt with hints of chocolate and caramel. The flavour brings the latter two notes out a lot more and there’s a good amount of roasty malt and chocolate at the top which then moves over for a dryer, hoppy finish. The fruitier notes mingle well with the earthier ones. Some smoke as well. Very nice.